Envision: The Michigan Artist Initiative 2025

Stamps Gallery, part of the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design at the University of Michigan, invites artists and collaboratives to submit their work for consideration for Envision: The Michigan Artist Initiative. This initiative showcases the depth of artistic excellence and merit of contemporary art practices in Michigan and recognizes the creativity, rigor and innovation of artists and collaboratives working in the region, inspiring the next generations of artists in our state.

A shortlist of three artists will be selected by a prominent panel of jurors: Juana Williams, art curator and writer based in Detroit, Michigan; Melinda Zacher Ronayne, Director of Visual Arts at the Interlochen Center for the Arts; and Parisa Ghaderi, Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Shoreline Community College and winner of the 2023 Envision: Michigan Artist Initiative Award. Those finalists will be invited to exhibit their work in a group exhibition at Stamps Gallery from June 26 — August 2, 2025, with logistical and curatorial support from the Gallery’s professional staff. The jury will select a winner, who will be announced at the exhibition’s opening reception and awarded a $5,000 cash prize.

Eligibility Criteria

• Artists must live and work in Michigan.
• Artists must be at least 21 years old and not be enrolled in a University program at an undergraduate or graduate level.
• The initiative is open to emerging and mid-career artists and collaboratives living and working in Michigan.
  • Emerging artists are early in their artistic careers (regardless of age). They have a small exhibition record and their practices are not yet considered well established professionally by indicators of museum exhibitions, gallery representation, publications. They have been practicing professionally for at least three years.
  • Mid-career artists have passed the early stages of their careers. They have a growing body of work and have attained a fair degree of public exposure through exhibitions, publications, and media coverage.
• This initiative seeks to support artists who are gaining momentum and committed to pushing the boundaries of their chosen medium. These artists are at a critical stage in their careers and in the threshold of taking their work to the next level.

Timeline

• November 12 — December 22, 2024: Call for work
• January 31, 2025: Finalists announced
• June 26, 2025: Public opening and award ceremony event
• June 26 — August 2, 2025: Exhibition dates